Don’t Let Your Fall Hair Flakes Fly

A D.I.Y Hair Mask for Dry Heads

By Lucia Rossi

Every time I shake my hair I feel like the Basket Case from The Breakfast Club. All these hair flakes fall and I wonder if anyone notices.

This is a given problem if you dye your hair often like me, or if you’re dealing with cold, dry weather, or you’re stressed, or sick, or have a medical skin condition. It’s not about your hair or how often you clean it, it’s your scalp and it’s going to be alright.

Dandruff is skin cells that grow and die off too quickly. It can be embarrassing and sometimes itchy, but is harmless.

Sure, there are plenty of dandruff shampoos to use. None of which I have personally found to actually be color-safe, so instead I decided to try the home-remedy route.

For my dandruff hair mask recipe I chose to use: avocados, honey, coconut oil, tea tree oil, and apple cider vinegar. You can find these around your house, can substitute them with similar items, or buy them cheap at your local supermarket.

Let me explain how wonderful these products are and why you need them in your life.

Tea tree oil is great for dandruff because it acts as an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial which will help stop the overproduction of skin cells that cause dandruff. It unclogs hair follicles and has anti-inflammatory properties that can ease the itchiness. It also removes excess oil and sebum to make your hair healthy looking again.

It’s no secret avocados are magical for bringing dry hair back to health. This “jungle butter” is not only tasty on toast, but has a great amount of fatty acids that restore moisture. You want to buy the overly ripe ones that are too ripe to eat for a project like this. All you need to do is cut it in half, remove the pit, and spoon out that green, vitamin-filled meat.

Apple Cider Vinegar has so many different uses. It’s great for your hair, skin, as a flea repellent for dogs, weed killer for plants, surface cleaner, healthy choice for cooking and baking, and can treat dandruff. ACV is an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial that can deal with excess bacteria and yeast-like fungus. ACV can be used with water as a rinse for mild cases, can be mixed with your shampoo, or applied directly for severe cases. This is true for tea tree oil and my other ingredients as well.

Honey is actually very similar to ACV in how it also is an anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. Honey is effective for the burning and itching problem with its vitamins A, C, D, E, B-complex, beta-carotene and minerals, iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese, calcium, and phosphorous.

Last but not least, coconut oil. Coconut oil is the mother-load of D.I.Y essentials. It can be used for over a hundred things. No really, there are articles that give you over a hundred ways of using it.

Coconut oil really gets into the binds of your hair’s protein with its lauric acid profile. It reinforces hair fibers to be stronger so it prevents damage and breakage. It is also an anti-fungal which is perfect for treating dandruff. This product is 100% natural, free of silicone, alcohols, and other chemicals that could upset sensitive skin. It’s no wonder this product has been used for literally thousands of years.

If you don’t have coconut oil, olive oil is a pretty decent substitute considering it has nearly the same properties.

Here’s my recipe:

Three avocados (use more if you have long hair and would like to cover more than your scalp)

When your ingredients are together mix them with a hand mixer or blender for about a minute. When it has a conditioner-like consistency with only small to no lumps, it’s ready. Apply all over your head or just over your scalp and massage it in. Keep it on for at least an hour.

Keep in mind, that any of these ingredients can be used alone or just mixed with water to treat dandruff. Also, don’t expect amazing results after one try. Keep your mask on for a couple hours or overnight if possible to get the best results. If you do this a few times a week, the results will be much more noticeable. Good things come to those who wait.

Don’t forget to shampoo and condition after. You may have to wash twice, if necessary, if your hair is too oily or if there are small avocado chunks.